Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Song of the Day: 'Libby' by Carly Simon


  I was the only kid at Hiller Elementary who saved up his birthday money to buy Carly Simon records at Korvettes, but even I can admit that her singles tended to considerably better than most of her album material. There were exceptions, of course, and none more so than "Libby," the epic ballad written for her friend Libby Titus -- the singer, songwriter, actress and concert producer -- that isn't all love and admiration. Simon's lyrics have never been more controlled and poignant than on "Libby," and its breathless captured-in-one-take effect sweeps you into the story like few.songs ever have.

4 comments:

Tim Ryan said...

I have to say, kenneth, that this has been one of my favorite songs since the day the album came out. It's a masterpiece.

B_4 said...

Love this song! But I really disagree with you when you say Carly's singles were better than the album tracks... All of my favorite Carly songs ARE album tracks. There is very little filler on her albums. Why not take another listen and discover some other gems!

MJEH said...

I had to laugh when I saw this post! I don't know about CS except for her singles, but this song is on her 1995 box set "Clouds in My Coffee", and this is where I first heard it.

Yank said...

I've been a fan for decades, and I've always thought it was a shame that she so consistently gets her visual image so wrong. She is beautiful, but the bad clothes and subsequent severe surgery spoil her.